Before You Get Started

If you’re a JavaScript newbie, or if your skills are rusty, you might want to have a JavaScript reference available as you work. The handiest reference is the JavaScript section in the Dreamweaver Reference panel. If you want more indepth information, the O’Reilly series on JavaScript (JavaScript in a Nutshell, JavaScript Pocket Reference) is a valuable resource.

Although writing Dreamweaver extensions isn’t just for propeller-heads, it isn’t for sissies, either. To work with object and command files, you need to be fairly comfortable with reading and writing HTML code, and you need some understanding of JavaScript. In particular, you should be familiar with the basic language structure, syntax requirements, and concepts of JavaScript (expressions, variables, functions, and so on), and how to use JavaScript to process data collected by HTML forms.